Herman Hum
23 Oct 05, 02:03
AAR: Breaking the Shackles - India [Spoiler Alert]
By Quinton van Zyl
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/6752/shacklesindia2ms.th.gif (http://img487.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shacklesindia2ms.gif)
Prime Minister Gandhi was quite explicit in her orders. Ensure that Sri Lanka remained under the hegemony of Mother India. Intelligence on enemy dispositions was vague. The Indian Ocean is a BIG place, after all. The only nugget of useful data was that American forces had left Diego Garcia and the Strait of Malacca. With only had these general locations to work from, the reconnaissance assets were despatched; Canberra from Jamnagar, Antonov-12s from Calcutta, and Dakotas from Port Blair. It was still the middle of the night, but I was gambling on the fact that although my cameras would be less effective, the enemy might reveal himself with errant radar emissions to the Radar Warning Receivers [RWR]. In fact, darkness is a double-edged sword. It could cloak my enemies, but it would also hide my aircraft from him, too.
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/2892/phantomsdetected6gg.th.gif (http://img487.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phantomsdetected6gg.gif)
Our Russian allies aboard the AGI Primorye gave the first solid indication of where the Americans were. They reported F-4 Phantom radar from the middle of the Bay of Bengal. Since F-4s were only moderately ranged aircraft, at least one enemy carrier had to be in the area. Luckily, submarines Kanderi and Kursura were in the vicinity. They were ordered to investigate along with six Osa missile boats. The distance was somewhat far from shore, but I hoped that the little boats would make it. It would certainly surprise the Yankees to find themselves under Styx SSM attack when they thought they were safe.
A second enemy contact report was received from a merchant trawler. She reported radar emissions from LPD Austin, CLG Providence, and DD Forrest Sherman. Two more submarines, Kalvari and Vela, were despatched to counter these invaders.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/7516/dgphibronsdetected0bg.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dgphibronsdetected0bg.gif)
Two flights of Phantoms approached Sri Lanka and interceptors were sent up against them and against two Crusaders found lurking near Colombo. The audacity of these Americans! They were trailing their coats on the doorstep to Colombo so five MiGs were sent to drive them off. First blood went to the Americans who blasted an An-12 MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] from the sky. However, it was avenged quickly when three MiG-17s fell upon a pair of Phantoms and sent them into the hereafter with a volley of AA-2 Atolls. The interception was not without its own price as two Fishbed Cs also fell from Yankee missiles.
The two Crusaders were next. FF Arnala turned on her radar in order to act as a pseudo-ground control station since this engagement would be far out over the water and away from any Army ground control stations. Both F-8s were brought down with Atolls, but the Crusaders did not go down without a fight and took two of their assailants with them. Say what you will about the Yanks, their pilots were well trained and knew how to die heroically.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/5836/srilankanraid1mi.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=srilankanraid1mi.gif)
A civilian fishing boat reported an inbound flight of A-4 Skyhawks. This could only mean one thing, AIR RAID! Unfortunately, all the aircraft were on the ground re-fueling and re-arming. It would be a foot race to see who could get ready first. The Skyhawks were 240 miles away and approaching at 415kts. The fighters would be grounded for another 30 minutes. Foot races don't get much closer than this. To add to the problems, another flight of bogeys were detected from the opposite direction! This was an excellently planned and cunningly executed raid. The fighters had been drawn out by a fighter sweep consisting of the Crusaders and now Colombo was virtually defenceless. I say virtually because I still had the HF-24 Marut bombers available. Even though they were currently loaded with bombs, they still had their internal cannon. In desperation, they were launched to interceptthe Skyhawks. This American commander was certainly a worthy opponent. His death would be all the more pleasing to Shiva.
The raiders turned out to be Corsair II. They would be armed with AAMs [air-to-air missiles] so eight Marut were sent aloft. The Marut immediately jettisoned their bombs and turned into the Corsairs. They were granted the secret wish of all ground attack pilots: one-on-one combat with enemy fighters. Immediately, one Marut exploded from an air-to-air missile. The remaining seven vented their fury upon the intruders. After a wild gunnery melee, both Corsairs were destroyed while another Marut was lost. A swarm of Skyhawks also tried to overwhelm the Colombo defences from the opposite direction. Six Marut rose to engage them along the ground defences. The combination was sufficient to kill all the attackers while only losing two more of the bombers.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8649/trivandrumraid6st.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trivandrumraid6st.gif)
Another stream of bogeys was detected approaching Trivandrum. The fighters assigned to that base had just been diverted to another threat elsewhere, but were immediately recalled for base defense. The attack was, again, excellently timed with the Crusader escorts arriving just prior to the Skyhawks. The defending MiGs were able to kill the escorts, but didn't have sufficient ammo to engage more than two of the strikers. Even in death, the Crusaders had performed their mission admirably. The Skyhawks left the air-defences around Trivandrum heavily damaged.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6330/phibronmysterygroup9xu.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phibronmysterygroup9xu.gif)
The Soviets were proving themselves to be faithful allies. The PhibRon from Diego Garcia was localized by the Russian AGI and another large group was detected right behind it so I re-tasked the Osa missile boats to attack these targets as they were likely to be more vulnerable to missile attack.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/1760/kursuravscvn1wd.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kursuravscvn1wd.gif)
Kursura came up to sniff the air and found herself in the midst of an entire CVBG! She quickly loosed torpedoes at the carrier and a nearby escort before diving to seek escape. She was killed by a torpedo from Forrest Sherman-class DD and never knew if her torpedoes had found their mark.
Kanderi was enroute to intercept the same CVBG and stumbled across a submarine contact. Sonar reported that it was likely a direct path contact. This meant that it was close! She immediately activated her sonar and launched a brace of torpedoes. After only a thirty second run, she heard two explosions. A Dakota MPA closed on the CVAN Enterprise and saw that she was only doing 8 knots. I hoped that the Kursura had damaged her enough for the Kanderi to catch her.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6783/kalvarivshancockcvbg3ak.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kalvarivshancockcvbg3ak.gif)
Kalvari was closing on both the CVBG Hancock and the PhibRon and elected to attack the PhibRon. Naval aviation is fearsome, but only Marines could control Sri Lanka. As Kalvari crept closer, Kanderi was about to conduct her own attack. She had slipped behind a CF Adams DDG and was not going to make the same mistake that Kursura did. She was not going to divide her fire. She would save all of her "eels" for the Big Fish, CVAN Enterprise. She crept into range and unleashed 5 wake-homing torpedoes against the Enterprise. DDG Barry, in an incredible act of bravery, detected the inbound torpedoes and interposed herself between them and the carrier. All four fish struck her and broke her back. She went down in less than thirty seconds.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/4145/kanderivsenterprise3xu.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kanderivsenterprise3xu.gif)
The crew of Kanderi raced to re-load. Soon, six more torpedoes were launched towards the Enterprise. Four explosions were heard, but she was still steaming! The "Big E" was certainly as tough as her WWII namesake. Four more torpedoes were fired before she was finally stopped dead in the water with a 27 degree list to starboard. Kanderi dove into the depths in search of escape, but the enraged escorts continued to hound her. She had shot her way into the battle group so she decided to shoot her way out. A Gearing-class DD launched a torpedo at her so she replied in-kind. Kanderi was successful and the American vessel was not. She finally made good her egress by creeping out of the battle zone underneath the thermal layer.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/1581/engagephibronhancock6nb.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=engagephibronhancock6nb.gif)
Kalvari tried to sneak into the PhibRon, but was caught in the act by a vigilant escort. In a quick exchange of torpedoes, both vessels were sunk. Now, Vela tried to creep in through the hole created by Kalvari. She tried to widen the gap by killing CG Providence, but was caught by a SeaSprite helo on patrol when she ran her periscope up. With a Mk 46 torpedo closing rapidly on her, the Captain elected to go out in a blaze of glory and fired every torpedo left in his tubes at the nearest available targets. The Mk46 had just locked onto the brave little submarine as she finished emptying her torpedo tubes. The Captain ordered the submarine to dive and eject counter-measures, but they had no effect. The torpedo struck just aft of the manoeuvring room and the Vela continued her dive until she imploded at crush depth.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9910/mysorecrossest2yy.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mysorecrossest2yy.gif)
With the Providence out of the way, the Surface Action Group [SAG] Mysore closed on the PhibRon. Unfortunately, there was yet another guided-missile cruiser in the vicinity. So long as she was present, her missiles easily out-ranged the 152mm guns aboard the light cruisers [CLs]. Instead of waltzing in and settling the issue with an old-fashioned naval gunnery duel, SAG Mysore had to wait for the smaller Osa missile boats to eliminate the Leahy. The Styx SSMs from the Osas quickly found their mark and sank the last of the missile-armed escorts. With no remaining screen elements to bar their way, SAG Mysore plunged like a dagger into the heart of the two formations and wrought havoc. The two CLs sent salvo after salvo into the helpless mass and sank every ship in both the task groups. Soon afterward, Victory was awarded. For humanitarian reasons, the second PhibRon was allowed to search for survivors unmolested.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9910/mysorecrossest2yy.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mysorecrossest2yy.gif)
Thanks for another exceptionally entertaining scenario.
SZO file archives (http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/forums/downloads.php?do=cat&id=30) - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB
FilesOfScenShare (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesOfScenShare/)
HarpGamer.com (http://www.harpgamer.com) - Home of the HCDB.
By Quinton van Zyl
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/6752/shacklesindia2ms.th.gif (http://img487.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shacklesindia2ms.gif)
Prime Minister Gandhi was quite explicit in her orders. Ensure that Sri Lanka remained under the hegemony of Mother India. Intelligence on enemy dispositions was vague. The Indian Ocean is a BIG place, after all. The only nugget of useful data was that American forces had left Diego Garcia and the Strait of Malacca. With only had these general locations to work from, the reconnaissance assets were despatched; Canberra from Jamnagar, Antonov-12s from Calcutta, and Dakotas from Port Blair. It was still the middle of the night, but I was gambling on the fact that although my cameras would be less effective, the enemy might reveal himself with errant radar emissions to the Radar Warning Receivers [RWR]. In fact, darkness is a double-edged sword. It could cloak my enemies, but it would also hide my aircraft from him, too.
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/2892/phantomsdetected6gg.th.gif (http://img487.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phantomsdetected6gg.gif)
Our Russian allies aboard the AGI Primorye gave the first solid indication of where the Americans were. They reported F-4 Phantom radar from the middle of the Bay of Bengal. Since F-4s were only moderately ranged aircraft, at least one enemy carrier had to be in the area. Luckily, submarines Kanderi and Kursura were in the vicinity. They were ordered to investigate along with six Osa missile boats. The distance was somewhat far from shore, but I hoped that the little boats would make it. It would certainly surprise the Yankees to find themselves under Styx SSM attack when they thought they were safe.
A second enemy contact report was received from a merchant trawler. She reported radar emissions from LPD Austin, CLG Providence, and DD Forrest Sherman. Two more submarines, Kalvari and Vela, were despatched to counter these invaders.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/7516/dgphibronsdetected0bg.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dgphibronsdetected0bg.gif)
Two flights of Phantoms approached Sri Lanka and interceptors were sent up against them and against two Crusaders found lurking near Colombo. The audacity of these Americans! They were trailing their coats on the doorstep to Colombo so five MiGs were sent to drive them off. First blood went to the Americans who blasted an An-12 MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] from the sky. However, it was avenged quickly when three MiG-17s fell upon a pair of Phantoms and sent them into the hereafter with a volley of AA-2 Atolls. The interception was not without its own price as two Fishbed Cs also fell from Yankee missiles.
The two Crusaders were next. FF Arnala turned on her radar in order to act as a pseudo-ground control station since this engagement would be far out over the water and away from any Army ground control stations. Both F-8s were brought down with Atolls, but the Crusaders did not go down without a fight and took two of their assailants with them. Say what you will about the Yanks, their pilots were well trained and knew how to die heroically.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/5836/srilankanraid1mi.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=srilankanraid1mi.gif)
A civilian fishing boat reported an inbound flight of A-4 Skyhawks. This could only mean one thing, AIR RAID! Unfortunately, all the aircraft were on the ground re-fueling and re-arming. It would be a foot race to see who could get ready first. The Skyhawks were 240 miles away and approaching at 415kts. The fighters would be grounded for another 30 minutes. Foot races don't get much closer than this. To add to the problems, another flight of bogeys were detected from the opposite direction! This was an excellently planned and cunningly executed raid. The fighters had been drawn out by a fighter sweep consisting of the Crusaders and now Colombo was virtually defenceless. I say virtually because I still had the HF-24 Marut bombers available. Even though they were currently loaded with bombs, they still had their internal cannon. In desperation, they were launched to interceptthe Skyhawks. This American commander was certainly a worthy opponent. His death would be all the more pleasing to Shiva.
The raiders turned out to be Corsair II. They would be armed with AAMs [air-to-air missiles] so eight Marut were sent aloft. The Marut immediately jettisoned their bombs and turned into the Corsairs. They were granted the secret wish of all ground attack pilots: one-on-one combat with enemy fighters. Immediately, one Marut exploded from an air-to-air missile. The remaining seven vented their fury upon the intruders. After a wild gunnery melee, both Corsairs were destroyed while another Marut was lost. A swarm of Skyhawks also tried to overwhelm the Colombo defences from the opposite direction. Six Marut rose to engage them along the ground defences. The combination was sufficient to kill all the attackers while only losing two more of the bombers.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8649/trivandrumraid6st.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trivandrumraid6st.gif)
Another stream of bogeys was detected approaching Trivandrum. The fighters assigned to that base had just been diverted to another threat elsewhere, but were immediately recalled for base defense. The attack was, again, excellently timed with the Crusader escorts arriving just prior to the Skyhawks. The defending MiGs were able to kill the escorts, but didn't have sufficient ammo to engage more than two of the strikers. Even in death, the Crusaders had performed their mission admirably. The Skyhawks left the air-defences around Trivandrum heavily damaged.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6330/phibronmysterygroup9xu.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phibronmysterygroup9xu.gif)
The Soviets were proving themselves to be faithful allies. The PhibRon from Diego Garcia was localized by the Russian AGI and another large group was detected right behind it so I re-tasked the Osa missile boats to attack these targets as they were likely to be more vulnerable to missile attack.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/1760/kursuravscvn1wd.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kursuravscvn1wd.gif)
Kursura came up to sniff the air and found herself in the midst of an entire CVBG! She quickly loosed torpedoes at the carrier and a nearby escort before diving to seek escape. She was killed by a torpedo from Forrest Sherman-class DD and never knew if her torpedoes had found their mark.
Kanderi was enroute to intercept the same CVBG and stumbled across a submarine contact. Sonar reported that it was likely a direct path contact. This meant that it was close! She immediately activated her sonar and launched a brace of torpedoes. After only a thirty second run, she heard two explosions. A Dakota MPA closed on the CVAN Enterprise and saw that she was only doing 8 knots. I hoped that the Kursura had damaged her enough for the Kanderi to catch her.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6783/kalvarivshancockcvbg3ak.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kalvarivshancockcvbg3ak.gif)
Kalvari was closing on both the CVBG Hancock and the PhibRon and elected to attack the PhibRon. Naval aviation is fearsome, but only Marines could control Sri Lanka. As Kalvari crept closer, Kanderi was about to conduct her own attack. She had slipped behind a CF Adams DDG and was not going to make the same mistake that Kursura did. She was not going to divide her fire. She would save all of her "eels" for the Big Fish, CVAN Enterprise. She crept into range and unleashed 5 wake-homing torpedoes against the Enterprise. DDG Barry, in an incredible act of bravery, detected the inbound torpedoes and interposed herself between them and the carrier. All four fish struck her and broke her back. She went down in less than thirty seconds.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/4145/kanderivsenterprise3xu.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kanderivsenterprise3xu.gif)
The crew of Kanderi raced to re-load. Soon, six more torpedoes were launched towards the Enterprise. Four explosions were heard, but she was still steaming! The "Big E" was certainly as tough as her WWII namesake. Four more torpedoes were fired before she was finally stopped dead in the water with a 27 degree list to starboard. Kanderi dove into the depths in search of escape, but the enraged escorts continued to hound her. She had shot her way into the battle group so she decided to shoot her way out. A Gearing-class DD launched a torpedo at her so she replied in-kind. Kanderi was successful and the American vessel was not. She finally made good her egress by creeping out of the battle zone underneath the thermal layer.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/1581/engagephibronhancock6nb.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=engagephibronhancock6nb.gif)
Kalvari tried to sneak into the PhibRon, but was caught in the act by a vigilant escort. In a quick exchange of torpedoes, both vessels were sunk. Now, Vela tried to creep in through the hole created by Kalvari. She tried to widen the gap by killing CG Providence, but was caught by a SeaSprite helo on patrol when she ran her periscope up. With a Mk 46 torpedo closing rapidly on her, the Captain elected to go out in a blaze of glory and fired every torpedo left in his tubes at the nearest available targets. The Mk46 had just locked onto the brave little submarine as she finished emptying her torpedo tubes. The Captain ordered the submarine to dive and eject counter-measures, but they had no effect. The torpedo struck just aft of the manoeuvring room and the Vela continued her dive until she imploded at crush depth.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9910/mysorecrossest2yy.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mysorecrossest2yy.gif)
With the Providence out of the way, the Surface Action Group [SAG] Mysore closed on the PhibRon. Unfortunately, there was yet another guided-missile cruiser in the vicinity. So long as she was present, her missiles easily out-ranged the 152mm guns aboard the light cruisers [CLs]. Instead of waltzing in and settling the issue with an old-fashioned naval gunnery duel, SAG Mysore had to wait for the smaller Osa missile boats to eliminate the Leahy. The Styx SSMs from the Osas quickly found their mark and sank the last of the missile-armed escorts. With no remaining screen elements to bar their way, SAG Mysore plunged like a dagger into the heart of the two formations and wrought havoc. The two CLs sent salvo after salvo into the helpless mass and sank every ship in both the task groups. Soon afterward, Victory was awarded. For humanitarian reasons, the second PhibRon was allowed to search for survivors unmolested.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9910/mysorecrossest2yy.th.gif (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mysorecrossest2yy.gif)
Thanks for another exceptionally entertaining scenario.
SZO file archives (http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/forums/downloads.php?do=cat&id=30) - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB
FilesOfScenShare (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesOfScenShare/)
HarpGamer.com (http://www.harpgamer.com) - Home of the HCDB.